CHAMPIONS LEAGUE NEWS

Real draw Bayern, Atletico get Blues
11 Apr 2014 14:29:00
Holders Bayern Munich and
nine-time winners Real
Madrid will face each other in
a mouthwatering Champions
League semifinal this month
with Atletico Madrid up against Chelsea.
Friday's draw in Nyon not only paired
powerhouses Bayern and Real together but
also kept alive the intriguing possibility of an
all-Madrid final in Lisbon next month.
The draw also puts Atletico's goalkeeper
Thibaut Courtois up against his parent club
Chelsea after Uefa said in a statement on
Friday that the on-loan Belgian is eligible to
play against the Londoners.
Atletico and Real will be at home in the first
legs taking place on April 22-23 with the
second legs the week after.
Real have not won the competition since
2002 and will have to end Bayern's hopes of
becoming the first back-to-back winners, if
they are to stay on course.
They will also be wary of a poor record
against Bayern Munich in the competition,
losing to the Bavarian club in four of the five
semifinals they have contested.
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"What can I say? Bayern is an extraordinary
organisation, one of the most prestigious
teams in the world and the current
champion," Real director Emilio Butragueno
said.
"They have an extraordinary team both
collectively and individually and without
doubt they will be an extraordinary opponent
for us.
"But it's the fourth semifinals in a row for us
and we are hopeful of making the final."
They will be sweating on the fitness of
Cristiano Ronaldo after the Portugese
forward's knee injury prevented him playing
in the second leg of the quarterfinal against
Borussia Dortmund this week - a match Real
lost 2-0.
"We have to wait and see how he develops,"
Butragueno said.
"Obviously he and the doctors will do
everything to make sure he is back as soon
as possible."
Bayern's chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge
said a meeting with Real would be "incredibly
tough".
"All Bayern and Real fans can justifiably look
forward to a fantastic clash," he told the
club's website (www.fcbayern.de).
"We've been drawn to play one of the best
clubs in the world and they're a fantastic
team."
Surprise Spanish league leaders Atletico,
who knocked out Barcelona this week, are
the only one of the last four not to have won
Europe's elite club competition but crushed
then European champions Chelsea 4-1 in the
Super Cup final in 2012.
Chelsea, for whom manager Jose Mourinho
is seeking to win it with a third different club
having triumphed with Porto and Inter Milan,
are in the semis for the seventh time in 11
years.
Chelsea chief executive Ron Gourlay played
down any controversy surrounding
Courtois's availability for the tie, although
did not comment on reports that a clause in
the agreement between the clubs means
Atletico will have to pay up to 5 million
pounds if he plays in both legs.
"The loan was arranged back at the start of
the season and it's quite simple, Thibaut can
play against Chelsea. That was never in
doubt," he told Sky Sports.
Uefa THREAT
Uefa earlier published a statement that said
if Chelsea enforced the penalty clause for the
two-legged semifinal tie they would be
sanctioned.
"Both the Uefa Champions League and the
Uefa Disciplinary Regulations contain clear
provisions which strictly forbid any club to
exert, or attempt to exert, any influence
whatsoever over the players that another
club may (or may not) field in a match," the
statement said.
"It follows that any provision in a private
contract between clubs which might function
in such a way as to influence who a club
fields in a match is null, void and
unenforceable so far as Uefa is concerned."
While Chelsea will possibly be relieved to
have avoided Bayern and Real Madrid, Diego
Simeone's Atletico side represent a
formidable obstacle.
"We are very happy to be here together with
three such magnificent teams," sporting
director Jose Luis Perez Caminero said
following the draw.
"I think it will be a balanced tie. (Chelsea)
have a great team and great individual
players.
"We will try to be as effective as possible
with our style of play and try to reach the
final, a dream not only for the players and the
club but for all the fans."
Draw:
Real Madrid v Bayern Munich
Atletico Madrid v Chelsea
© Reuters